Understanding your cough

What causes a cough?

Understanding your cough

What causes a cough?

Coughing is part of the body's self-protective response. Coughing can be a distressful and uncomfortable experience. It is, however, an integral part of the body's self-cleaning mechanism. A cough mainly has the function of clearing the airways, thereby protecting the lungs.

Cough is triggered when special receptor nerves in the airways are stimulated. Smoke, dust or crumbs, for example, trigger an immediate cough response. Stomach acid rising up to the throat (known as heartburn) also causes this response. Excess phlegm in the airways can also stimulate cough receptors, especially when the phlegm is thick and sticky, blocking the delicate hairs (cilia) that normally transport mucus out of the airways.

Stimulated receptors send nerve signals to the brain which responds by trying to eject the irritant. Strong, sudden expulsions of air out of the lungs help blow the irritating substance up the windpipe and out of the body - in other words, a cough. When the body is healthy, coughing cleans the airways successfully. But during illness, when phlegm is particularly thick and sticky, the cough response is not enough to move the phlegm. An effective expectorant such as Mucosolvan® makes the phlegm more liquid and easier to move.